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Sunday, April 10, 2016

20+ Laws the Philippines should have for New President

The May 2016 Philippine Presidential elections are coming close, and so I thought I'd list down 20+ law ideas that I would want the country to have. Or if not a law, at least some sort of accomplishment or good change.

My stand is that, we should have governing laws that will also protect the independent artists, especially those who aren't involved in big labels and media. There should also be responsible media content screening - for instance, there should be guidelines as to what big medias are allowed to "rip-off" from another series or brand, and not just "do it for money and publicity". Actually, I think copyright laws should govern indie artists more, because they are lesser known for their content, compared to the mainstream acts whom we already know what they own and big medias are still being complete assholes on YouTube about it, which sucks so much.

I think this law or set of laws should not just be in the Philippines, but also the world. But more so with the Philippines because nearly everyone here is a thief who will always take advantage of you, so you have to be the asshole sometimes.

2. Enhanced Laws on Philippine Products and Assets

Ever heard of Dayo, Urduja, Alamat, RPG Metanoia and Super Inggo? Nah, perhaps you just dissed it because it doesn't look too international in your taste. I believe that a large population of the Philippines has been infected with a cancer called "colonial mentality" and this is why we keep having OFWs with sad, MMK/Magpakailanman stories and never a progressive country. We keep depending on others and we can't stand up to our own colors, even though we have this so-called "Filipino Pride".

We should have laws enhancing the "Tangkilikin ang Sariling Atin" (Support our Own Goods) ideology. It's sad that fresh graduates keep succumbing to big companies owned by foreign blood (I'm looking at those run by half-Chinese people, though I have nothing against Chinese in general) and not even getting the idea of being a self-employed person, owning their own business or being the boss. We should encourage local entrepreneurship, innovation and creativity more and foreign capitalism less. But yeah, Filipinos are greedy in general and always want dirty, easy-going shortcuts, don't they?

3. Death Penalty or Similar Crime Discipline Method

Freedom? Catholicism? Sacriliege? Martyrdom? Pfft, martyrs are long gone and dead in this country. Sure, back then, the world was a peaceful place. But what about now? How the fuck are you going to protect the innocent if evildoers keep coming back by bailing or escaping from jail? The solution is obviously death penalty. It is not to repress life - it is just to discipline and warn people that what they are doing or about to do is wrong.

Seriously, perhaps we have been too drunk on freedom like a rebellious kid and always drove authority away. But look where it got us: we're still in deep shit as a country. We borrow money from other people where we should be making money from our natural resources already (see agricultural sector below). Sure, all of us as "Catholics" live by the Jesus rule. But you can't always win people with kindness. Not everything that was written in the Bible applies to our times, because our times are different from the era the Bible was written, just saying.

"Not everything in the world can be resolved by being nice."

-- Asriel Dreemur (Undertale)

4. Enhanced Educational Curriculum

Most misunderstandings, crimes, lack of jobs, poverty, and all other bullshit reigning in our country all originate from being uneducated. I don't just mean being academically educated but also spiritually and morally educated. Intelligence on subjects is one thing but wisdom to choose between right and wrong is another.

Whether it's a religious school or not, everyone should have a psychology graduate teacher somehow, so that they can assess children better and not bring up assholes or smartypants as the grow up into the real world and make it worse. If you remember Manny Pacquiao's opinion against same-sex marriage, that was just the result of being uneducated, and that is one of the reasons why everyone needs to get some form of education so that they wouldn't hurt others and have a better understanding of the world. I believe there should be enhanced educational curriculum that lets students step out of the box, out of their comfort zone, out of the stereotypes and understand the world better than what's being commonly taught on TV or media.

5. Anti-Dynasty Law

This is pretty much obvious, and we already have a hanging bill for this. We absolutely need an anti-dynasty law, since families holding thrones is so of Medieval age - we need to move on from them already. The only problem is that those who will approve the law are part of dynasties themselves, so I'm pretty sure we don't have hopes on this one, since we all know how closely-knit "family ties" are in the Philippines, for Christ's sake.

6. Laws Governing Media Stereotyping

I have a LOT to say to this. Why should boys like cars and girls like make-up? Why should you get married in order not to be called 'gay'? Why should you be mainstream famous or be part of a big company in order to be successful? Are suicidal people really weak and is being weak really that bad? Do you have to go to church just to be "blessed by God"? Do you have to earn some degree in college just to be successful in life or can you work it out with self-learning, tamang diskarte and perseverance? Do you have to be a social person to be successful in life or should shy and introverted artists also get their fair share of success and appreciation?

Should all killers be persecuted and hated or should you learn first about what made the killer do the crime? Are Visayans and Mindanao people really that inferior to the Luzon people? Are city people way more intellectual than provincial people or are there gems out there waiting to be discovered but ignored and shunned by company giants and stupid netizens? There are more stuff that I want to list down here, but that's probably another blog entry altogether. My point is that, we should have laws cutting down all of these stupid stereotypes that makes the Philippines a very shitty place to live in.

7. Stricter Anti-Racism Laws

Let's face it. We've called Igorots badly before Carrot Man came. We've called Mindanao a haven of Abu Sayafs before Duterte stood up to be a presidential candidate (and Pacquiao become a world boxing champion). Seriously, do you have to have someone to stand up to their respective communities just to kill the stereotyping?

Here I am, a 25-year-old independent musician, composer, graphic artist, project maker, creative and technical writer, game developer, somewhat programmer (BS Com Sci), freelancer, frustrated singer and keyboardist, and anything else weird, childish and stupid coming from Pagbilao, Quezon, and I'm sure no one will ever notice me out there even after I die, because the mass media only sees Quezon as Lucban, Lucena and a shitload of mountains full of NPAs and rallyists. My point is that, maybe we should have better laws on anti-racism, so that we don't diss someone just because they pronounce the letter 'e' differently than us Tagalogs.

8. 100% PhilHealth Coverage Both on Check-ups or Hospitalization

We're paying a lot of cash for PhilHealth and the government still doesn't implement a full coverage for both clinic check-ups and hospitalization. Currently, you still need to get hospitalized to get PhilHealth benefits, which sucks for those who wanted to get a check-up. "Mas mura pa ang magpalibing kaysa magkasakit." (Funerals are less expensive than getting sick), says a local political ad, which is the sad reality of our country that makes people retire abroad and die there. A 100% PhilHealth coverage on every medical (and even dental) service would be awesome, and would not just make the citizens happy and worry-free, but also more willing to contribute and/or pay their taxes.

9. Federal Government System to Balance Job Density

The only reason I see why Manila is a cesspool of hellish pride, poverty and piss everywhere is because it is highly congested by people from the provinces who are too envious of the jobs and opportunities in Metro Manila that their locality doesn't have. Why don't we make like in America and other countries and turn our government into a Federal Government System?

A Federal Government System typically means that there is no such thing as "only Manila gets all the fancy malls and work opportunities". It means that all provinces will become states and get their own share from their own businesses and local income. It's a battle between provinces/states and the dependence to big capitals like Manila will be eliminated, as all states will have enough to generate a metropolitan utopia of their own. Only a small portion of their income is given to the national government, so that provincial people don't have to travel for miles just to get a job, pay the rent, and act like a robot for life. Hopefully this happens, because I am sick and tired of Manila people hogging all the "blessings".

10. Expressway to Visayas and Mindanao

San Juanico Bridge? Yeah, that should be a good starter, but not enough. To truly have balanced pricing of goods and reduce shipping costs, we should spend all that money from taxes to build super stable bridges (not cheaply-made, kickback-powered ones) across the country. Bridges and expressways will help in reducing costs of traffic and in general, get your goods fresher and on time, as well as contribute to the tourism sector, since tourists hate getting stuck on traffic and airport delays.

11. Enhanced Agricultural Sector

Isn't the Philippines more of an agricultural basin rather than BPOs and shopping mall slaves? I would also want the stereotype of "being a farmer will give you poverty" to be erased, as farming is by far, for me, the most important job of all in our country, because this is our golden ticket to earning big bucks by selling our local goods to many countries, and thus, our means to almost never borrow money from them anymore. We don't need to import anything - it's just being manipulated by the agricultural sector, obviously. Rice shortage? Perhaps, if the government had stricter laws on land preservation, we wouldn't get this heap tons of subdivisions, factories and big company buildings plunging our agricultural advantage all the way down to hell.

12. Laws Promoting Work and Life Balance

Let's face it - almost every work in the Philippines doesn't even allow you to enjoy your life and be yourself. Why do you have to live like a robot? For money? For the sake or your family? How about yourself? Without you, there will be no money to earn, no family or friends or significant other to take care of. You are the most important part of the work force, and you should always have a job that balances work and life moments. This is why I'm glad that this amendment on media shooting laws of only up to 14 hours extension will possibly make showbiz almost drug-free. So yeah, I hope there would be some law that will shorten the require work hours for people in the office, because they obviously need some time for themselves and they are not fucking machines you can toy with.

13. Better Support for Independent Artists, Organizations and Bodies

I've said this time and time again - I'd like to see a law that supports not just signed artists but also independent composers (like me), especially those from really far-away provinces (like me) and those who just want to set their own standards and not be swayed by whatever is mainstream or marketable (like me). Haha, sorry for the rant, but perhaps it's this unfair world and country. Seriously, I think the UK has better support for independent artists and film makers when it comes to copyright and media exposure, which is really cool and I think our country should have as well. This does not just apply to artists, but also organizations and bodies. Animal rights club? Sure, we need to tell the Filipinos that pets aren't for trashing and abuse, because they're living beings too, like us, regardless of their intellectual status. Just because something isn't in the norms of people or isn't marketable doesn't mean you cannot feature it on TV - that's bullshit right there.

14. Revamped Laws for Company Ownership

When was the last time that a successful Filipino company was owned by a legitimate Filipino? Nah, I can't remember either. All I know is that most company giants nowadays are owned by mostly Filipino-Chinese people (nothing against Chinese still, but more on the fact that we're being controlled somehow by foreigners anyway), save for the Ayala malls, I guess. Maybe we should amend our laws regarding company ownership, so that Filipinos will have more control over the private sector and NOT be slaves and fucking robots all the time.

15. Improved Investigations to Avoid Frame-Ups

Anything in the Philippines can be fixed with money, as long as you have money, connections and influence. What we need: a justice system that isn't bias on rich people and will be able to give poor criminals an attorney to defend themselves to avoid shitty frame-ups. I hope those people who get framed for something they didn't do eventually turn into monsters and fuck you up when you sleep every night.

16. Go for More No-Bail Laws

Why are there more criminals in our country? Why is there so much corruption? It's because we're allowing them to pay for their crime with money, not with service or anything like that. There should be less laws with bail so that not even the rich can escape from the hands of the law.

17. Advancements on Science and Technology

I'm specifically looking at weather forecasting and other climate-related stuff here in our country. Since we are obviously a typhoon-rich part of the world, we need the best and unprecedented gear for meteorology - and we need the government to fund that. Perhaps you've heard the story on Agapito Flores and how he "sold" his fluorescent lamp invention to the US just because the government didn't notice him. I hope there will be no more Agapito Floreses on our time - we need the government to appreciate our home-grown scientists before they sell their life-changing and country-progressing work to someone else.

18. Better Support for Other Religious Beliefs

Please. Catholic isn't the only religion in the country. Can't we just stop shaming other religions and religious beliefs just because they interfere with our own "faith"? Sure, we give respect to Muslims and INCs, but what about those who just prefer not to believe in God or not have a religious belief in general? We should respect them too, no matter how much they contradict us. Religious wars only happen because either side is being a complete asshole about the other religion, which is not the way a religion should work, sheesh. What we need: less stereotyping about religious beliefs and faith so we can stop making people feel like they "have to be Catholic or else they will burn in hell, be discriminated and be of no use to the world".

19. Provide Insurance Plans for All Workers

Carpentry, plumbing and most home repair and construction jobs are dangerous - they can kill a person right off the bat. Without medical and life insurance, everything goes to waste, especially for their family. This is why we need the government to lay out small but useful insurance plans for all workers, especially those in the said construction industry. It is a legal requirement in most American states for a carpenter or repairman to be insured, and I believe this should be done more in our country, since a lot of our workers are on the construction industry. I heard this SSS Alkansya program that lets small-time earners such as tricycle drivers to drop off a few pesos for their contribution, which is ideal for the minimum wage sector and small-time self-employed ones who have somewhat life-threatening jobs.

20. Improved Disaster Plans

We've seen enough hell - from Yolanda to Ondoy, we've seen enough looting, crime and starving people moving to the capitals just to stay as a squatter just because their homes were wrecked. What we need: better disaster plans that involve peace and order coming first before relied goods are served. We also need a law that limits the involvement of local government bodies and organizations in interfering with international donations. It's the most disappointing part of the Filipino race - other countries are kind yet asshole Filipinos corrupt all the goods for their own.

21. Frequent Government Shuffling

I honestly don't think shuffling cabinet members at our current rate is enough - it should be done more frequently so that corruption will be avoided. I hope the Anti-Dynasty Law also encompasses this part of the government.

22. Faster Internet, Better ISP Service and More Reliable Servers

I've had this experience of a very very very bad server service from a certain domain / web server in which all of our websites had been unintentionally deleted and the backup wasn't even that fresh, leading to a huge loss of data. Filipinos aren't very serious with their IT, it seems. I've heard a lot of news nowadays that our country is like, at the bottom of the pit when it comes to internet speed. Seriously, have you ever been on Facebook and not experience frequent refreshing due to sloooooow loading? It's because so many Filipinos are using Facebok and our servers aren't enough to contain such massive amount of traffic. This is why we need better internet speed and more reliable, responsible servers so that we can catch up on the growing demands of the world market.

23. Computerized Traffic Ticketing System

If we somehow made the K-12 educational system a law, then why don't we also adapt another standard from another country to discipline our own country? A computerized traffic ticketing system that only makes use of high-definition CCTVs and speedometers will really help eliminate the kotong cops.

24. Better Family Planning Education

Like it or not, overpopulation sucks. This particularly means you have more mouths to feed and more anxiety to draw. People tend to become robots in the end because they are literally struggling in a sea of people with no hopes of stopping. I'm not anti-life or anything, but I think a stricter family planning education would be a better eye-opener for the teens and most importantly, the people drenched in poverty. After all, as I said above, education can raise a person from poverty and from stupid mistakes in life. So can we put all of our "religious beliefs" aside and be more practical? If you can't raise a family, don't - no one should force you, not society, not anyone. Think about your government and how many mouths it has to feed for your uncontrollable libido. On the opposite side, the government should also do their part by either educating them more or giving them livelihood jobs or similar activities so they don't have to cause an "earthquake" all the time.

25. Give Industrial Jobs for Prisoners

I've heard from my dad that in Europe, prisoners work for an industrial company as factory workers. While we have the same here where most prisoners sell handicrafts and other livelihood projects, it is not enough, and not every prison in the Philippines have this kind of thing. There should be some law or whatever that forces all prisoners to get busy with a job, so that they can make themselves useful even behind bars. It's a much better way to atone for their sins rather than just getting raped and being turned into a monster by depression, eventually killing another person again, and becoming a person you won't be able to save anymore. Let's change that by making them more useful, much like a normal human being who is free to walk down the streets. Worrying about non-prisoner people not getting a job due to all being taken by inmates? I don't think so. There can be tons of jobs out there if Filipinos are more entrepreneur-minded and not robots or fucking slaves to big companies.

26. Put Prisons on Islands

Ever heard of Alcatraz? It's a famous island in the U.S. that acted as a prison for some time in the past. We've got almost 7,107 islands - why don't we put that to good use and transfer all the Bilibid, Muntinlupa and other inmates from crowded jails onto island jails? It's also a better option if they really want to detain high-profile inmates instead of just doing random raids and inspections, since sea transport is a lot harder than land transport.

27. Upgrade our Transport System

Seriously, we should all be riding subways and stuff like that now, or at least a different approach instead of hellish and rape-prone public transport. I somehow like the new law / resolution that uses automated CCTVs to ticket people to avoid kotong cops, which is much like the ones abroad.

There can be more stuff that I might put here, but this should be enough for now. I'm not someone with some degree knowledge in Law, and this is just a list of suggestions based on my experience in the Filipino society since birth (1991), back when Death Penalty was still legal. I hope this inspires any politician who will once again (or for the first time) get the privilege seat.